https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Thomas_KnottsThomas Knotts - Revision history2026-08-20T10:54:14ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Knotts&diff=398253&oldid=prevWikiDwarfBOT: robot: add new article2023-07-22T11:04:56Z<p>robot: add new article</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>'''Thomas Elwood Knotts''' (1861&ndash;1921) was the first mayor of the city of [[Gary, Indiana]], serving from 1909 to 1913, after having previously served as head of the Gary town board from 1906 to 1909.{{sfn|Howat|1915|p=386}} He was also Gary's first postmaster.{{sfn|Howat|1915|p=386}} His business ventures included the ''Gary Evening Post'', later merged into the ''[[Gary Post-Tribune]]'', and the Gary Trust & Savings Bank, both of which he founded in 1909.<br />
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Knotts was born in [[Highland County, Ohio]], in 1861, and subsequently graduated from [[Valparaiso University]].<ref name="nyt_obit">{{Cite news<br />
|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/03/27/112677643.pdf<br />
|title=Thomas E. Knotts<br />
|date=1921-03-27<br />
|work=The New York Times<br />
}}</ref> He was the brother of [[Armanis Knotts]], an early mayor of [[Hammond, Indiana]]. Prior to taking up the administration of Gary, he served as Superintendent of the Indian Schools in [[South Dakota]] during the presidency of [[Grover Cleveland]],<ref name="nyt_obit"/> moving to Hammond in 1891, where he combined local entrepreneurship with various positions in the Hammond police department.{{sfn|Howat|1915|p=385}}<br />
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A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] and longtime supporter of [[organized labor]], Knotts became a leading member of the "town forces" in a struggle against [[US Steel]] for political control of the city.{{sfn|Lane|1979|p=ix}} Knotts was defeated in the 1913 election by the company-backed Republican candidate, [[Roswell Johnson]].<br />
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Knotts died on March 26, 1921, in [[Rochester, Minnesota]], following surgery.<ref name="nyt_obit"/><br />
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==Works cited==<br />
*{{Cite book<br />
|title=A standard history of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet region, Volume 1<br />
|first=William Frederick<br />
|last=Howat<br />
|year=1915<br />
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkPWAAAAMAAJ<br />
}}<br />
*{{Cite book<br />
|title=City of the century: a history of Gary, Indiana<br />
|first=James B.<br />
|last=Lane<br />
|isbn=0-253-11187-0<br />
|year=1979<br />
|url-access=registration<br />
|url=https://archive.org/details/cityofcenturyhis0000lane<br />
}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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{{Mayors of Gary, Indiana}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Knotts, Thomas}}<br />
[[Category:1861 births]]<br />
[[Category:1921 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People from Highland County, Ohio]]<br />
[[Category:Mayors of Gary, Indiana]]<br />
[[Category:Valparaiso University alumni]]</div>WikiDwarfBOT